help about £10,000 debt

mummy2boys_3

Hi everyone,

am new to the site and was looking for some advice. i have about £10,000 worth of debt and struggling.
My partner does not know about my debt and unfortuately if he found out i know he would leave me. i have 2 children 2 think about so i dont want that.
i only earn £110 a week.
my debts are

argos - £280 - Limit £300 - minimum payment £10
Lloyds Tsb - £4810 - Limit £5000 - minimum payment £110
Barclaycard - £3350 - Limit £3500 - minimum payment £76
Capital One - £480 - Limit £500 - minimum payment £24
Vanquis - £450 - Limit £500 - minimum payment £24
Halifax - £1260 - Limit £1300 - minimum payment £25

My dad has offered to pay my Lloyds card for me when he gets his compensation cheque through which i feel awful for accepting.

I get £120 a month for child benefit which i use to pay these. i have missed payments on cards in the past so my credit rating is poor.

Has anyone got any advice.

Thanks

MissKJ

Sorry babe, you can't do it on that? You need a better plan? Don't you have any control of the family finances that you could budget better to release more money?

Sorry just read it agin, your money is per week .... Sorry it can be done

MissKJ

We need to know what else this money covers. is it left over to spend or is it for food etc?

robpw2

i think you should talk to your partner as they may be able to help and it could end up getting worse or they could find out and that could be a worse situation

mummy2boys_3

i sell things on ebay and take abit out the joint account each week so its not one big lump. my dad currently pays my Lloyds one for me and is soon going to pay it off to help me but it hard because i cant risk my partner finding out people keep cleaning tight and dont understand why i wont spend. am lucky to have a great mum and dad to talk to who also buy things for my kids but am too old really to still be putting things on them.

Kylie

Don't panic! You have found the site that will help you!

First things first: can you please state the APRs for each credit card?

Kylie

At this stage, you will need to work out your monthly or weekly expenses. Use Martin's Budget Planner on the right side---->

Then work out exactly how much you can put aside to pay off this each month.

You might want to graciously accept your father's assistance - you can pay him back at a later date.

People on this site will then walk you through "snowballing"

GeorgeUK

Hi M2b

Looks like it will a real struggle.
I take it your partner isn't the father of the kids.

Post up a full statement of affairs and we'll see if there are any savings that can be made from your total expenditure.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=107280

There may be a way to juggle your existing accounts so that you are paying less interest, therefore paying off more of the debt, but this is going to be very tricky and may not even work if your credit rating is poor. Can you let us know what the APR is on each of the cards and which you have the late payments on?

You may need to contact one of the free debt charities to help you ask the banks to freeze interest if this has gone too far to fix. These are the ones we usually recommend:
(Taken from Fermi's signature)

Professional, free and impartial advice on debt problems can be obtained from several charitable and 'not for profit' organisations. They never make a penny from the advice they give, which means it will be given with only your best interests at heart. You can contact:

Your local CAB Office and ask to speak to a 'money advisor'
The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) - Tel: 0800 138 1111
National Debtline - Tel: 0808 808 4000
Payplan - Tel: 0800 917 7823

Also check your credit file (free at experian) - don't bother paying to get your credit score. Different companies work it out in different ways so may not mean anything at all. Just remember to cancel within 30 days. This should allow you to see how many late payments you have on each card as well as how many credit checks you have recently had. Can you let us know that as well?

We'll try to help, but it looks like it will be a very major battle and your father's support will be a huge boost.

consultant31

I can imagine how hard it woukd be to tell your OH about the debt, but if you can't talk to him about any and every thing, you've not really got a good relationship have you?

You can always pay your Dad back in other ways, helping them to decorate or whatever, I'm sure they would rather help you than see you floundering.

I really think you should give your OH a chance to show his true colours - whatever they are you're better off finding out sooner rather than later.

Bite the bullet and come clean for the sake of your sanity if nothing else - otherwise you're effectively living a lie which is no basis for a relationship.

Squirrel29

Hi there, the reaction of your OH may well suprise you although I can imagine it must be really hard to summon up the courage to confess to him.

A guy on here the other day had just found out that his partner owed a lot of debt and he although he was shocked, he was prepared to stand by her and even draw out his life savings to pay it off for her.

Your dad sounds really lovely. Post up a proper statement of affairs and let us have a gander at it. xxx

mummy2boys_3

Argos - 27.9% missed about 10 payments but have just sent up direct debit.
Lloyds - 16.9%
Barclay - 16.9% missed about 4 payments. just made direct debit
Vanquish - 39.9% paid late once
Capital one - 39.9% pay direct debit
Halifax - 17.9% late payment once

i get £120 a month that i use for the direct debits.